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I Dare You to Take The 4 Gift Challenge this Christmas

December 9, 2017 This post may contain affiliate links.

This is the first year I am not dreading Christmas. Because this year we have implemented the 4 Gift Christmas Challenge and it’s brilliant!

Up until last year, Christmas season was always a time of stress. There was this sick feeling about spending too much on things we didn’t really need just to full that little space under the Christmas tree.

Christmas morning was spent watching the kids open present upon present upon present ….. It made me feel a little ‘dirty’. The joy of Christmas was replaced with the guilt of unnecessary gluttony.

I knew why I did it. It was a mix between lack of self control and a skewed ambition to ‘Keep up with the Joneses”.

Most of our friends have a large extended family. Gifts start collecting under the tree from Aunties, Uncles, Cousins, grandparents weeks before the actual day.

Not at our home.

Oh no.

That empty space under our tree gathers dust until Christmas morning.

Our family is really small since we immigrated. The presents under the tree are all from Mom and Dad. In my head somewhere I equated Quantity of gifts to equal Quantity of love. If I piled the gifts really high no-one would notice that it was just us.

OK, so I know it’s ridiculous, but I am pretty sure I am not alone.

You may have a different reason for doing it, but so many of us feel the pressure to overspend on gifts at Christmas.
On Saturday afternoon I went to the store. It was crazy busy with Moms and Dads cramming boxes and bags into the cars. Loads of boxes. Too many bags.
To be fair, It’s kinda hard not to go a little crazy during the Christmas Season. Your inbox, mail box, TV … well… pretty much every media out there is fighting for your attention. Special Offers, Sales, BUY BUY BUY. Kids shows are interrupted with the latest toy they need to ask Mom and Dad to get them. Even the bloggers I love to follow are sending me out a tirade of promotional emails encouraging me to buy more stuff.
I have had enough.
Last Christmas I drastically reduced the number of gifts I gave my children. And it felt good. Christmas Day was about family instead of toys. This year I’m going a little further.
This year I have taken the Gift Giving in our home to a whole new level. This year we are implementing the 4 Gift Christmas Challenge. Each of my children will be getting four gifts under the Christmas tree. The weird thing is, instead of being disappointed about it, they are surprisingly excited. Kids are not dumb. They also feel our stress during the Christmas season.
The Challenge goes like this:

The Four Gift Challenge

I dare you to take the 4 Gift Christmas Challenge this year. I have a feeling we will all be pleasantly surprised at how well our children respond to this new kind of gift giving!

This Challenge has been around for a long time, but it’s a new idea for us. Do you already do this? I would love to know if your family does the 4 Gift Challenge and how it’s changed Christmas Day for you?